Book Review | Ghost Girl by Ally Malinenko

Source: preordered purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

Ghost Girl is a middle grade horror novel by Ally Malinenko.

Perfect for fans of Small Spaces and Nightbooks, Ally Malinenko’s middle-grade debut is an empowering and triumphant ghost story—with spooky twists sure to give readers a few good goosebumps!

Zee Puckett loves ghost stories. She just never expected to be living one.

It all starts with a dark and stormy night. When the skies clear, everything is different. People are missing. There’s a creepy new principal who seems to know everyone’s darkest dreams. And Zee is seeing frightening things: large, scary dogs that talk and maybe even . . . a ghost.

When she tells her classmates, only her best friend, Elijah, believes her. Worse, mean girl Nellie gives Zee a cruel nickname: Ghost Girl.

But whatever the storm washed up isn’t going away. Everyone’s most selfish wishes start coming true in creepy ways.

To fight for what’s right, Zee will have to embrace what makes her different and what makes her Ghost Girl. And all three of them—Zee, Elijah, and Nellie—will have to work together if they want to give their ghost story a happy ending.

I loved Ghost Girl!

Growing up I picked up every book I could find that possibly had a ghost in it. All of the amazing middle grade and young adult books that exist today weren't available back then. My inner Jen still gets excited every time I get to pick up a middle grade horror - especially the ones that center around ghosts.

While Ghost Girl is certainly a ghostly book, it is much, much more than that. And most important (to me) - it's scary! I love when a horror book turns out to be scary, and Ghost Girl joins the ranks of Hide and Seeker, The Girl and the Ghost, Root Magic, and Where the Woods End for having some amazing horror content!

Like Hide and Seeker, it will also hit you right in the feels. I love the characters of Zee, Elijah, and Nellie. Their character growth and their friendships are wonderful! I grew to love them so much.

If you read middle grade or have someone in your life who reads middle grade, I highly recommend Ghost Girl. I can't wait to read more from Ally Malinenko!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5/5 stars

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Recent Updates and Currently Reading | January 23

I hope you all had an excellent weekend! I'm getting this post out pretty late in the weekend, but I'm trying to stay on top of my updates this year.

Are any of you watching The Book of Boba Fett? It's so good. I'm so excited for what's to come. If you are watching, you know what I'm talking about.

Posted Last Week

Book Review | A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw ⭐⭐💫★★

2021 Releases I Was Excited to Read But Didn’t Get To

On My Wishlist | Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham

Book Review | The Ghost of Midnight Lake by Lucy Strange ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Finished Reading

Mine by Delilah S. Dawson ⭐⭐★★★ - This was not a favorite. I will have a review out either this week or next.

Unsouled by Will Wight ⭐⭐⭐★★ - I'm so happy to finally be reading this series.

Exposed Nerves by Lucy A. Snyder ⭐⭐⭐★★ - This is a collection of horror poetry. I probably won't post a review since it's hard enough to review poetry - a "good" 3⭐ poetry review is even tougher.

Currently Reading

Soulsmith by Will Wight - I'm continuing on with Will Wight's Cradle series. This is book two.

Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule - I started reading this last summer, and I guess I lost interest. I've started over. It's not really pulling me in, but I want to catch up with the rest of the High Republic books.

Added to the TBR

Strange Nests by Jessica McHugh - I loved her collection A Complex Accident of Life last year.

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This post is being shared as part of Book Date, Unleashing Readers, and Teach Mentor Texts It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Book Review | The Ghost of Midnight Lake by Lucy Strange

The Ghost of Midnight Lake is a middle grade horror-adjacent mystery novel by Lucy Strange.

From award winning author Lucy Strange comes a thrilling ghost story about a strong willed heroine who will follow even the most restless spirit in order to untangles the dark mystery of her own past.

It's 1899. The Earl of Gosswater has died, and twelve-year-old Agatha has been cast out of her ancestral home - the only home she has ever known - by her cruel cousin, Clarence. In a tiny tumbledown cottage, she struggles to adjust to her new life and the stranger who claims to be her real father. While adjusting to her new fate, she learns that the shores of Gosswater lake are haunted, and soon comes face to face with the spirit of another young girl who's soul will not rest. Could the ghost of Gosswater hold the key to Aggie's true identity?

I'm pretty sure I read The Ghost of Midnight Lake just because of that cover! Thankfully The Ghost of Midnight Lake was so much deeper than my reason for picking it up in the first place.⁠

Despite having such a lovely print copy, I decided to listen to this one on audio. It's narrated by the author, and I think this added an additional layer to an already wonderful book.

The Ghost of Midnight Lake opens up with Agatha finding out her parents who have passed away are not her biological parents, and she must uproot and go live with her "real father".

The Ghost of Midnight Lake is full of mystery, friendship, family, and villians.

This is the first book by Lucy Strange that I've read. I realized after finishing this that she's the same author who just released Sisters of the Lost Marsh as well. I look forward to reading more by Strange in the future.

⭐⭐⭐⭐★
4/5 stars

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On My Wishlist | Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham

Have you read anything by Daniel Abraham? I haven't read any of his previously series (including The Expanse which he co-authored as James S.A. Corey). I'm super curious about his upcoming release Age of Ash. Let me know if you've read it or plan on reading it! It's the first book in a new series Kithamar, and a lot fantasy reviewers are saying great things so far.

From New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed author Daniel Abraham, co-author of The Expanse , comes a monumental epic fantasy trilogy that unfolds within the walls of a single great city, over the course of one tumultuous year, where every story matters, and the fate of the city is woven from them all.

Kithamar is a center of trade and wealth, an ancient city with a long, bloody history where countless thousands live and their stories unfold.

This is Alys's.

When her brother is murdered, a petty thief from the slums of Longhill sets out to discover who killed him and why.  But the more she discovers about him, the more she learns about herself, and the truths she finds are more dangerous than knives. 

Swept up in an intrigue as deep as the roots of Kithamar, where the secrets of the lowest born can sometimes topple thrones, the story Alys chooses will have the power to change everything.

Did you add anything to your wishlist this week?

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This post is being shared as part of Can't-Wait Wednesday over at Wishful Endings.

2021 Releases I Was Excited to Read But Didn’t Get To

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. 

Heartbreak Bay by Rachel Caine

Our Last Echoes by Kate Alice Marshall

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

Long Lost by Jacqueline West

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

Billy Summers by Stephen King

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

The Hidden by Melanie Golding